Over Here: Now
by angelique-anja
Summary: Over There/Over Here 2. Continuation from Over There: Again. With Olivia back safe and sound, it's time for Peter and Walter to mend their relationship, with a little help.


_A/N: Well, I've decided to carry on my storyline involving the very lovely Ms. Clia Bell. I own nothing of Fringe, but I hope you enjoy my short story. I believe it's time for Peter and Walter to come to terms. Anja.x_

* * *

Their mandated leave, ordered by Broyles upon their return came to an end all too soon and then it was back to fighting the war from the other side. On Monday morning, Olivia, Walter, Peter and Astrid gathered in the lab, over the remains of their latest case.

"It would seem our friend here got high on a poisonous fungus," Walter told them. "What he thought to be cocaine was actually a hybrid mushroom formed by the military years ago to be planted in enemy territory with the hope of either incapacitating them or killing them."

"Hybrid mushrooms?" Olivia asked.

"I indeed. Dried and ground up, they would indeed look like cocaine," Walter replied.

"We need to find the supply of this stuff before more of it goes out on the streets," Peter added.

"On it," Astrid announced. "I'm looking for any strange drug related deaths over the past month."

"What about where it's being grown?" Olivia asked.

"None of it should have been grown, Agent Dunham," Walter told them. "It was all harvested and disposed of."

"But people keep things their not supposed to. Give me a sample, we should be ale to trace where it was grown or if it's from the original stock," Peter said.

* * *

That night, Peter and Walter arrived home to find a delicious aroma feeling the house along with the sound of someone singing. Walter smiled. "Clia is cooking."

"So it would seem," Peter said as he hung both their coats up before following Walter into the kitchen. He was standing beside their young house guest, who was letting him taste a spoon.

"Careful, it's hot Walter," she warned him.

"Mmm, Delicious. Peter, you need to try this!" Walter said excitedly. "So much better then pudding pops!"

Clia smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she told them before turning to Walter. "And there is nothing wrong with pudding pops."

"I'll go wash my hands," Walter told them, before leaving the kitchen.

Peter came up to the stove to look in the pots. "You don't have to do this, you know?"

"I like to cook," Clia told him. "And it's nice to finally cook for people other then myself..."

Peter nodded. "Who taught you to cook?"

"I taught myself, it was sort of the one thing I did for me, that wasn't related to my training in any way..." Clia shrugged. "I really do enjoy it. It also dragged me away from the cliche 'single, federal agent' image. I refuse to live off microwave dinners and cereal."

Peter laughed, thinking what Olivia was probably easting for dinner and then shook his head. "Well, as long as you're okay with it," Peter said. "I'll set the table for you."

"Thanks."

Walter came back and sat down at the table for dinner. The night was passed in a friendly companionship, till Walter turned in for the night. Peter insisted on doing the dishes since Clia had cooked. She sat at the counter watching him for a while.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her briefly.

She bit her lip before continuing. "I don't want to speak out of turn... But... Walter's worried about you..."

Peter put the pot he was washing down in the sink and retrieved the had towel. Drying his hands he turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"Well... He's worried you'll leave again... I know I don't know what happened before I came here, but he's scared... Every time you go to Olivia's... That you're not really going there, but... Well, somewhere else. He's not the only one either..." she left is unsaid who the other person was. Olivia.

"Well, you're right, you don't know what happened before you came," Peter said harsher then he intended.

Clia shook her head. "I'm sorry, forget I said anything," with that she stood up, ready to leave the kitchen.

"Clia!" Peter said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.. Please, sit back down... I... I had my whole world turned upside down. I felt betrayed," Clia reclaimed her seat and Peter sat across from her. "When I found out that I was from the other side... It threw everything off for me, but at the same time a lot of things finally made sense. My missing or odd memories, the separation I felt from those around me... And he didn't tell me..."

Clia nodded. "Bell didn't tell me till I was fifteen that I was adopted... He was always a little sad when he looked at me and one day I came across a list of the dead inside the quarantine sites. I confronted him... But he loved me... Despite my odd upbringing, I guess I loved him too... Walter loves you too Peter."

Peter sighed. "I don't know Clia..."

"Trust me... No one crosses the universe twice for a simple day trip... Peter, he lost his son. He couldn't bare to watch his alternate do the same... He made his mistakes, there's no denying that. But consider the fact that the Secretary's whole plan is revenge, yet to get that revenge he has to kill you to achieve it..."

Peter nodded. "I guess."

"Don't guess... There's only one way he could have gotten your exact DNA into that machine... And that's if he'd started it before you were taken."

Peter looked at her. He hadn't considered that. "You're right..."

"I'm not saying forgive him, but I was told that it doesn't matter who your biological parents are as long as the people around you love you enough to risk everything... And I think Walter's proven that for you, don't you?" Clia asked.

Peter nodded. "You're right... You really are... It's those that love us and teach us the world..."

Clia smiled at him, then stood up. "I'll let you finish up the dishes. Night Peter."

"Night Clia... And thank you."

* * *

When Peter awoke in the morning, Walter was pottering around downstairs and Clia was nowhere to be found. Peter guessed she was giving him an opportunity to talk to Walter in private.

"Walter?" Peter said coming downstairs.

"Yes Son?"

"Can we talk before we go into work?" he asked. He'd spent most of the night thinking about what Clia had said and it all made sense. Peter sat Walter down on the couch and sat down next to him. "I... Last nigt someone said something to me that I think really counts for us, and I'd like to share it with you..."

Walter nodded. "Okay..."

"I know I didn't handle things right after I found out the truth... I felt betrayed Walter..." Walter tried to interrupt, but Peter stopped him. "Let me finish Walter. It's taken me some time and some prodding from outside sources to understand your motives and the more I think about the other you, I can't help but thinking that you're the better man. You didn't deserve to lose your son..." Walter's eyes welled up and Peter saw a tear roll down his wrinkled old face. "I'm sorry I doubted you... You raised me, you did everything you did because you loved me... And that... That's what a father is..."

"Oh... Peter..." Walter replied. "Thank you..."

"Come here," Peter pulled Walter into a hug. "You ready to go in?"

Walter nodded as he pulled away. "I do love you Peter... Very much."

* * *

Olivia noticed the lack of tension between the Bishops the instant she entered the lab. She shot a glance at Astrid, who just shrugged.

Peter was actually smiling and he appeared to beam when he spotted her. "Morning."

"Morning," she returned. "How are we going?"

"Wonderful," Walter announced. "Astro has found the location where the mushrooms are being grown."

Astrid just shook her head. "It's Astrid, Walter," Sometimes she wondered if he just did it as a joke, but it was hard to tell with Walter. She looked at Olivia. "Using Peter's analysis of the white substance, we were able to narrow the location down to a small area in the national park. I've gone over the area with satellite images and there is definitely something odd growing there."

"So we'll be heading out there?" Peter asked.

Olivia nodded. "I'll call in backup to join us recover the mushrooms. Full hazmat suits Walter?"

"Huh?" he looked up from the computer. "Oh, yes. Full suits. And no burning."

After putting through the call to Broyles, Olivia approached Peter. "Everything seems different today. You and Walter talk?"

Peter nodded. He put down the beaker he'd been working with and turned to her. "We did actually... It's strange... It took Clia to point out some really simple facts to me... I spent most of the night thinking about what she told me and spoke to Walter this morning before we came in..."

Olivia smiled. "That's great... So..." she wanted to ask, to make sure he was staying now, but she couldn't find the words.

Peter knew where she was going with her train of thought. "I'm here to stay Livvy... I'm not going anywhere..." Olivia smiled, brighter then he was used to. It was infectious as he smiled himself. "I told you, you can't get rid of me," then, after looking around the lab, making sure Walter and Astrid were preoccupied with something else, he leaned in and kissed Olivia gently on the lips. "You're stuck with me, sweetheart."

Olivia laughed softly at the old endearment and shook her head. "You better not be lying Bishop."

"To you?" Peter asked, resting his forehead against hers. "Never."

* * *

They were met at the plantation by Broyles, a forensic recovery team assigned to Fringe Division and a SWAT unit.

"How exactly are we supposed to dispose of these Doctor Bishop?" Broyles asked as they watched the teams work. Walter was decked out in his own Hazmat suit, ready to head to work himself.

"The mushrooms need to be drowned in acid. After that, all poisonous attributes should be gone and the lot can be burned in a secure apparatus to avoid any accidents," Walter explained.

Broyles nodded. "Very well." He wouldn't admit it out loud to anyone, but he was glad to have his team back. Dunham and the Bishops did their work well and he looked forward to adding Agent Bell to the team at a later date. They'd been a man down since Charlie Francis had died and her presence would give them the much needed support that they required in the field and in the lab.

* * *

Dinner at the end of the case was at the Bishop's house. Astrid, Olivia and Broyles were all asked to join for an end of case celebratory dinner. Olivia laughed as Walter followed Clia around the kitchen asking for a taste of their dessert. Astrid went into the kitchen to pry Walter away from their upcoming dessert and to give Clia a chance to actually serve their dinner.

Talk around the table was easy, light-hearted and normal. They didn't talk about the oddity of the world around them. Instead they teased Clia about her messed up facts, helping her learn how things were in their universe. Walter prodded Peter and Olivia about their relationship, which earned them a look from Broyles, which he tried to make look disapproving, but he couldn't quite succeed.

Peter looked around the table and realized something. There was nowhere in the world. No, two worlds that he would rather be, then at that table. Sitting between Olivia Dunham, the woman he loved, Walter Bishop, the man who had raised him, who truly acted like his father and surrounded by their friends. He did belong. Right here, with them.

* * *

_And there we have it. The end of another short tale, trying to fix the relationships within our favorite team. Next time, if there is a next time (I really should be studying, university and all...) I think I'll focus more on Peter and Olivia's relationship (unless I come up with a different idea... Which is possible...) Anyway, reviews are welcome, in fact they're encouraged. They let me know that you guys appreciate my work and want to see more. Anja.x_


End file.
